I do not know what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn't expecting this gem. The restaurant is housed in an elegant town-home. The bar. with just the right amount of lighting, is on the main floor, right as you first walk in. You head upstairs for the main dining- a modern room but with a cozy feel. And then there is a parlour room on the floor above for private dinner or to have an intimate drink on a comfy couch in front of another bar. We had the Halibut which was superb as as a yummy heirloom tomato salad and a tasty Kale salad. This place is a great date place. I highly recommend it.

The menu is inventive, seasonal and eclectic. I'm a big fan of the kale salad with nigella, hazelnuts, and crispy carrots and the green barley salad with cara cara orange, French feta and shiso vinaigrette. Be sure to say hi to their lovely hostesses, Tash and Reesh.

This article from Nerve.com really got me thinking about my favorite love songs from the past 100 years. From the Beach Boys “All You Need is Love” to Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You”, there are more amazing love songs than we could ever count.

Every year at about this time, people start to think back on the year that is coming to a close, and reflect upon all the things they didn't accomplish that they had hoped they would. For single people, often high up on that list is the fact that they didn't get married or get into that significant relationship for which they had been looking. Instead of harping on things you can't change from the past, here are some New Year's resolutions that might actually help you find and fall in love in 2014:

Did your year not end with
a New Year's kiss?

1. Remove negative influences from your life. Whether or not you want to admit it, there is negativity all around you. Acknowledge this and do your darndest to remove it from your life. This means negative friends, relatives and colleagues.

2. Date people you wouldn't usually date. All single people get into dating ruts from time to time. If you know that your dating life has hit a familiar pattern that always ends up poorly, make a resolution to date differently in 2014. Date people you wouldn't usually date and see if this changes your relationship luck.

3. Join an online dating site, even if you think you are not that kind of person. Face the facts: in this day and age, almost every single person is either online dating or working with a professional matchmaker like myself. If you rationalize that online dating is just not for you, you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to meet someone who could be your mate. Just take a deep breath and do it.4. Move to a new home, if you have been procrastinating doing so. One of the things I constantly hear from single people is that they refrain from moving because they might meet their significant other, and then what? This is a bad excuse. You will be more apt to meet your honey if you are living your life and moving forward. It would be a high classproblem if you need to figure out what to do with your new home because you met the One.

5. Reach out to old friends with whom you have been meaning to catch up. With sites like Facebook and LinkedIn being all the rage, you have no excuse for not reconnecting with old friends. Just friend them somewhere, make a plan to get together and then see if they know someone great for you. Friends love introducing their friends to each other.

6. Participate in an activity that is outside your comfort zone. Doing new things is a great way to expand your social circles and meet new people. Go ahead and choose something you have always wanted to do, but have never done. Join a baseball league, join a tennis club, take a cooking class, just do something and keep your eyes open for other single people while you are doing it.

7. Get a date makeover, so you look and feel your best. It's always good to change your look a little to shake things up in your dating life. Go ahead and get a new haircut, add highlights to your hair, go buy a new sexy date outfit that will wow the opposite sex or buy a new color lipgloss. Make a change and you will be surprised how many people will notice you in a different way and compliment you too.

8. Get fit and healthy. This needs to be a top priority in 2014. Stop making excuses that this doesn't matter, because it absolutely does. Being fit and healthy is the number one characteristic that both men and women tell me is of importance to them in a mate. Take a step to becoming more fit and you will see a huge difference in your dating life.

9. Do some self analysis about why are not in love. You are the only constant in every one of your dating situations and in every relationship which you have been in. You need to take a very long, hard look at how you are being perceived in the dating world and then make some important changes to improve that perception. Are you too negative? Do you play too hard to get? Are you not feminine enough? Are you too picky? Do you never have a plan for the date? Are you commitment-phobic? Figure out what you can improve or change and do it, immediately.

10. Stop the booty calls with people who are not real contenders. It's time to be smart if you are looking for a real relationship. My mother always told me that if you have someone in your life, no matter how inconsequential, you are not trying as hard to meet someone else because you are distracted. This is fact. Get rid of Late Night Larry or Late Night Linda if you want to meet your true love in 2014.

Halloween is a great time of year if you're single and looking for a new romantic interest. Everyone is out and about, in a good mood and ready to have a fun evening. In fact, Halloween might be the best night of the entire year to meet someone and find some lovin', so grab a costume or a mask and get out there. Here are some tips on how to make the most of the evening and meet someone great:

Choose a costume that will
elicit compliments.

1. If you're going to a costume party, you must wear a costume, no matter what; no excuses. If you can't get into the Halloween spirit, chances are that you will not be meeting anyone. (Nobody wants a party pooper!) If you're having a really hard time, think of your costume as a way to get out of your shell and a way to become the person you always wanted to be. Think Clark Kent and Superman. Use your disguise to be daring, bold and flirty.

2. Choose a costume that makes you look and feel great so that you can confidently make the rounds at that party. Choose something that flatters your figure, makes you feel sexy and is fun to wear. Nothing is better than people telling you how great you look, so choose something that will elicit those compliments. Some ideas are a Sexy Fairy, a Foxy Lady or the Queen of the Nile.

3. Don't choose a costume that is over-the-top scary or grotesque. It's one thing to be a vampire or a zombie from The Walking Dead, but it is another thing to have bugs crawling all over you or to be carrying a severed, bloody leg. This is the night to be sexy and interesting, not creepy and awful.
4. Don't choose a costume that is so odd that it will scare people away. If you can't explain your costume in one sentence or less, choose something else. You don't want someone to be curious about what you are, only to be frightened away by your oddness. Examples of some no-no's are Pregnant Tinkerbell or a Wet Shirt Lady.

5. If you are stumped on an original costume, go with a play on words. A play on words costume is a great conversation starter, as people have to walk up to you and ask you what you are, and you can flirt with them while they try to guess. Some examples of good one are a Cat Burglar, Chick Magnet, White on Rice, Cereal Killer or Spice Rack.

6. Don't choose a costume that requires you to be with a pack of people all night to pull it off. You do not want to be the whole bag of M&Ms or the cast of Glee because you will spend the whole night parading around with the group instead of meeting someone new.

7. If you're looking for an excuse to approach someone who you want to meet, just compliment their costume. Everyone loves to be told that their costume is awesome. Use this to your advantage and march on up to that cutie and say you love his disguise. You will have him eating out the palm of your hand.

8. Choose a party that is not too large and crowded. It's tempting to go to the party that is boasting a 1,500-person turnout with an all-night open bar and a celebrity DJ, but that will only be a see and be seen party. Choose something a little more intimate so you can meet someone and actually get to know them.

9. Pace yourself with your drinking. It's okay to lose your inhibitions a little bit, but it is not okay to lose your mind completely. People sometimes stir up a little mischief on Halloween, so be aware and be alert. Never leave your drink alone when you head to the dance floor.

10. If you are interested in someone, get their email or cell number early on so they don't disappear in the sea of costumes. It's hard to keep track of people at a Halloween party because people get camouflaged by all the costumes. So, if you are interested, exchange digits quickly, so you can be in touch come November.

If you're single and heading out of town for vacation this summer, you might be crossing your fingers for a passionate vacation romance. Vacation romances occupy a special place in our hearts. They thrill us because they have a set expiration date. When we're in the midst of one, we can already feel it metamorphosing into a precious memory. And once one is over, we feel teased by what was an impossible love, however, knowing that it was the impossibility that gave it its heightened sense of meaning.

If you decide that you don'twantyour summer romance to turn into a memory, and instead want to bring it home with you to real life, there are a few questions you should first ask yourself:

Are you sure that your new love is single and available? People will often use vacations as excuses to cheat on their partners. Make sure this isn't your love.

Would your lives fit together? Do you have common interests, values, and ways of life? While you're away from home, you may allow yourself to overlook these important commonalities, and not see the potential flaws in your new lover.

If your love doesn't live in your area, are you willing to put in all of the labor that a working long-distance relationship requires?

If your answer to these three questions is"yes", it is definitely worth exploring this relationship at home in real life. If not, it may be best to relinquish this romance, knowing that it will always live as a treasured memory.

Samantha's blog

I blog about dating, relationships, love and romance. I cover interesting romantic places for travel, unique romantic gifts, new and romantic restaurants, fun and worthwhile events, and interesting people who are making a difference.

Samantha's Table

Strategic Matchmaking

Welcome to Samantha's Table, the exclusive, discreet and high-end matchmaking service for the ultra-successful, ultra-busy, ultra-cultured and the ultra-educated. Samantha’s Table was founded by Samantha Daniels, an ivy league educated, modern-day Cupid over 10 years ago. At that time, Samantha decided to ditch her day job as an attorney and to start a business out of her hobby of matchmaking her friends. Now over 132 marriages and 1000’s of significant relationships later, Samantha is considered the best in the business.

Samantha strategizes with her clients to find them the only thing that is missing in their lives, that special someone with whom to share all of their successes. Samantha’s clients are very busy individuals so they hire Samantha focus on “quality” over quantity. Her clients date on their own all the time but they look to Samantha to find them “the one”, that special someone with whom to take “that final step” as opposed to the people they are choosing to “date for fun”.

As a result, Samantha maintains a database of more than 20,000 quality, high caliber individuals, just the type of people that her clients are interested in meeting. Samantha’s goal is to try to help each and every client get into a meaningful and long lasting relationship with someone who has “the full package” for the client- beauty, intelligence, success and good family values.

Samantha introduces people one-on-one over drinks. She finds potential dates for her clients by partaking in many charity committees, attending the most prestigious and exclusive events in New York and Los Angeles, traveling all over the world and consulting her large and confidential database.